Apparatus for hardening steel



V 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(N0 Model.)

, G. P. smonns. APPARATUS FOR HARDBNING STEEL.

No. 466,441. Patented Jan. 5, 1892.

0., man

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

} (No Model.)

G. P; SIMON D S. APPARATUS FOR HARDBNING STEEL.

No. 466,441. Patented Jams; 1892 UNITED "STATES PATENT FFICE.

GEORGE F. S IMONDS', OF FITOHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR HARDENING STEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. {166,441, dated January 5, 1892.

Application filed August 22, 1891.

To on whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. SIMoNDs, of Fitchburg, in the county of Worcester and State of-Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Hardening Steel, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification. I

This invention relates to an apparatus adapted to the practice of a process for hard: ening steel or steel articles, said process being described and claimed in a concurrent application filed of even date herewith and numbered in serial 403,459.

The purpose of the invention is to harden steel without subjecting it to undue strains in the process of cooling, thus avoiding fractures and warping of the parts.

It is a further purpose of the process to improve the quality of articles treated, and my present invention provides a novel apparatus whereby said process may be continuously practiced upon any suitable scale, said invention consisting in the novel. parts and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described, and then more definitely pointed out in the claims concluding this specification.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out, reference being had for such purpose to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a box containing the bath in which the articles are cooled. Fig. 2 is a similar view of a wire basket with which the heated articles are handled when this bath is used. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a box adapted to contain the bath and constructed and provided with means for carrying on a continuous processof hardening.

In Fig. 1, A is a box the inside of which is divided into two compartments B O by the partition D, which extends about two-thirds of the distance from the top to the bottom of the box, thereby forming at the bottom of the box an open communication between the compartments B and O. E is an opening in Serial No. 403,458. (No model.)

bottom of partition D, with such. a depth of 1 oil' on topvof the brine in compartment B as may bedesired, for purposes hereinafter specified.

It is often desired in hardening steel to 'cool the article treated with great rapidity to brine and then in oil are greatly diminished by the interruption in the process of cooling during the transfer from the brine to the oil. To obviate this difficulty I proceed as follows: The basket H, (shown in Fig. 2,) formed of wire and provided with a vertical handle H, rising from any one of its sides, is passed down through the oil into the brine in compartment B, as shown in Fig. 1, with the handle of basket at or near the other end of compartment B, as indicated in Fig. 1. Said basket is then moved under partition D, so as to rest on the bottom of compartment 0, the location of the handle of the basket then being against or near the partition D, as indicated in Fig. 1. The articlestto be hardened are then dropped into the basket in the brine, and the basket is removed to compartment B and lifted up through the brine into the oil floating upon the surface of the brine. to remain until the articles are sufficiently cooled to complete the process. The articles are retained in the brine or the oil for such time as may be desired to produce the best results. By these means the work is accomplished without any interruption, and great advantages are derived in obviating the risk of warping and breaking, and a remarkable improvement is effected in the quality of articles hardened.

There it is allowed- ICO In Fig. 3, A is a box supported on legs F F, I

the inside of which is divided into two compartments B C by the partition D, which extends about two-thirds of the distance from the top to the bottom of the box, thereby forming at the bottom of the box an open communication between the compartments B O. E is an opening in the boxA in the front side of compartment B for the purposes set forth in the description relating to the part E in Fig. 1. G is a continuous wire apron carried by endless chains 3 3, and which is moved along by the rotating sprocket-wheels 1 1 in its course through the compartment 0, under partition D, through, up, and out of compartment B, passing over the end of and down under the box A and then up to the point of again entering the compartment 0. 4 and 5 are guards attached at the sides and across the continuous wire apron H to retain the articles to be hardened upon the apron while it is passing in, through, and out of compartments B and O. 2 2 are shafts connecting each pair of sprocket-wheels 1 1. 9 is the wheel by which the power is furnished to move the sprocketwheel at the outer end of compartment B, which in turn moves the continuous wire apron H. 6 6 is a dotted line approximately representing height of brine in compartments B and O. 7 represents, approximately, the height and position of oil above the surface of the brine in compartment B. G is an inclined drip-board to catch the oil dripping from the wire apron as it passes under the box A and also to convey it into a proper receptacle at its lower elevation. By means of this construction, as shown in Fig. 3, I am able to operate the process continuously by placing the articles on the apron in compartment 0. They travel first through the brine and then through the oil, falling from the 1 myself strictly to brine and oil, as other quick I and slow cooling liquids may be substituted in the process; nor do I limit my invention to the specific features of construction and arrangement described, as these may be considerably varied without departing from my invention.

\Vhat I claim is 1. An apparatus for use in hardening or tempering steel and steel articles, comprising a box having a partition that does not extend to the bottom of said box, thereby dividing the box into two compartments that communicate below said partition, a glazed opening or indicator in the front side of one of said compartments for the purpose of showing the line of demarcation between the brine and oil or other cooling media in that compartment, and means, substantially as described, for conveying the articles to be tempered from the quickcooling medium in one compartmentinto the slower-cooling medium in the other compartment without intermediate exposure, substantially as specified.

2. An apparatus for use in hardening or tempering steel and steel articles, comprising a box having two compartments that communicate below a separatingpartition, a

glazed opening or indicator in the front'side of one of said compartments for the purpose of showing the line of demarcation between the brine and oil or other cooling media in that compartment, a traveling apron or conveyer common to both of said compartments and adapted to be moved from one to the other through the communicating opening, and Sprocketgearing, arranged substantially as described, for causing said apron to travel through and from the compartment containing a quick-cooling medium under the partition, then up and through the compartment containing the slower-cooling medium, and thence downward under the box and up- ;ward to again enter and pass through the first-named compartment, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 19th day of August, A. D. 1891.

GEORGE F. SIMONDS. WVitnesses:

HARRIS C. I-IARTWELL, CHARLES F. RICHARDSON. 

